The Racing of the Heart

Answer 1

The heart usually beats between 60-100 times a minute, but this rate can change depending on the person’s habits and surroundings. If someone is on medication or exercises regularly, the rate might drop to 55 beats per minute. If the heart rate is over 100 beats per minute, it might have to do with anything from diet, to stress and anxiety, to high fever. Heart palpitations are either rapid heartbeats, or slow pounding ones.

In the case of good diet and exercise, slowing down heart palpitations may require a conscious effort to relax. An electrical current runs through each human heart, and the normal path of travel for this electric can be disrupted by stress, bouncing it against the heart walls and causing quicker, harsher beats. Heart valves can become stickier when stress is greater, causing the blood flow to struggle harder to push through on its course. Certain areas of the heart can shift to try compensating for heightened anxiety. These are only a few reasons why stress is a leading cause of heart-attacks today. But in any case, heart palpitations due to stress are not serious unless the case if left unattended for a long time. However, an irregular heartbeat could be a little more of a problem, being the result of early heart disease, an abnormal heart valve, or a blood imbalance as well as stress. In any case of heart palpitations, it is good to have a doctor check it to make sure things are not serious.

In most cases that are not serious, a doctor will most likely tell his patient to reduce caffeine, sodium, cholesterol, and stress. The first three items are more easily monitored than the last. Breathing exercises and detailed muscle relaxation such as the Alexander Technique or Yoga often help reduce stress. Immediate help should be sought only if there are 100 pulse beats per minute (not heartbeats) under normal circumstances, heartbeats come in groups of three or more, or if one loses consciousness, has trouble breathing, or experiences chest pains. Preventative measures include not smoking, eating a well-balanced and low fat diet, regularly meditating and exercising, and managing blood pressure.